RX-78NT-1 Gundam "Alex"
The is a mobile suit featured in the Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket OVA and piloted by Christina Mackenzie. Technology & Combat Characteristics The RX-78NT-1 Gundam "Alex" was developed by the Earth Federation Forces during the One Year War as a mobile suit specifically for Newtypes. Its intended pilot was Amuro Ray, an ace pilot who has been displaying Newtype powers in battle and as a result was overworking his RX-78-2 Gundam. In fact, Amuro's data was utilized during the machine's development. As the Earth Federation Forces did not have the same level of Newtype research as the Principality of Zeon, the Alex did not have any Psycommu controlled remote weaponry. Instead, it was designed to be highly maneuverable, mobile and responsive, taking advantage of a Newtype's superb reaction speed and reflexes. Test pilot Christina MacKenzie (an Oldtype) noted that the machine was incredibly powerful, almost to the point that it was out of control. To be more responsive to its pilot, the Alex utilized the brand new panoramic monitor/linear floating seat combination, and the Magnetic Coating pioneered by the RX-78-3 "G-3" Gundam. The panoramic monitor provided increased visibility and reduced pilot stress.MG 1/100 Gundam RX-78 NT-1, Bandai, October 1999, assembly instruction manual The linear floating seat not only better protects the pilot against G-forces and impact shocks, but also complements the panoramic monitor as it is suspended in the cockpit, enhancing the pilot's field of view. The Magnetic Coating improves the machine's reaction speed by three times when compared to conventional mobile suit without this coating. To make the Alex highly maneuverable and mobile, its propulsion power is enhanced with the backpack thrusters being enlarged, as well as various thrusters being placed throughout its body. The Alex's generator output is also improved. Additionally, the Alex can be outfitted with a new set of optional armor known as the Chobam Armor, turning into the Full Armor Alex for better defensive power. This armor however increase the Alex's total weight to a shocking 95 tons, hampering its maneuverability and mobility to a certain degree, although measures were taken to reduce these negative impacts. The "U.N.T.SPACY" markings on various parts of the Alex represent a top-secret plan of the Earth Federation Forces and stand for U'nder '''N'ormal 'T'actics '''S 'P'ecial 'A'ssortment 'C'onstruction 'Y'ard. Lastly, the name "Alex" is a word play on the "RX" code for the Gundam series and also an acronym for "'A'rmored 'L'ayers 'EX'perimental". Armaments ;*60mm Vulcan Gun :A basic armament of many Federation mobile suits, a pair are mounted in the Gundam Alex's head. The Vulcan Guns are mainly for intercepting incoming missiles/rockets, destroying mobile suit sensors, and engaging lightly-armored vehicles. ;*90mm Gatling Gun :Stored in armor covers on both forearms. It has the power to penetrate the armor of MS as seen with the MS-18E Kämpfer. The gun barrel is usually hidden and pops up during use, but the weapon had a problem in terms of number of bullets and vibration. The adoption of this armament was triggered by the fact that the joint motor could be made smaller by improving field motor technology, and there was enough space. Although quite effective in combat, it is not adopted by subsequent mass production mobile suits due to cost and maintenance issues. These weapons are unusable when Gundam Alex is fitted with the Chobam Armor. ;*Blash·XB-B-09 Beam Saber :The standard close combat weapon for Earth Federation mobile suits, it is a small device held in the mobile suit's hands when operated and is powered by a rechargeable energy capacitor. The beam saber emits a blade of plasma contained by an I-field and can through most armor not treated with an anti-beam coating. The Gundam Alex stores two beam sabers in its backpack. ;*BOWA·Norfolk XBR-L Type-3 Beam Rifle :The primary ranged weapon of the Gundam Alex, it uses parts produced by different companies. The Gundam Alex's beam rifle has a higher output and convergence rate than the one used by the RX-78-2 Gundam, leading to better penetration power. It has been suggested that the magazine-shaped parts at the bottom of the rifle is an exchangeable E-pac.'Gundam MS Historica vol. 4' Book ;*Hyper Bazooka :A general purpose fire support rocket launcher platform for mobile suits. With considerable destructive power owing to the high explosive yield in each warhead, the weapon was primarily used to destroy less maneuverable targets such as warships, satellites, land battleships, bunkers, and buildings. A custom type with scope was developed for the Gundam Alex. ;*RX·C-Sh-05 UBC/S-0003 Shield :A defensive armament, the Gundam Alex's shield has the same structure as its Chobam Armor and also has an anti-beam coating to withstand several beam shots like other shields. It is said that some of the later Earth Federation Forces' mobile suits, such as the GP series, uses shields with similar makeup. Special Equipment & Features ;*360-degree Panoramic Monitor :A new type of cockpit display, typically used in conjunction with a linear floating seat. The multiple panels of the panoramic monitor make up a single 360-degree display, which covers the entire inner surface of the spherical cockpit. The image displayed on the monitor is a computer simulation constructed from the cameras distributed around the mobile suit's exterior. The viewpoint is that of the mobile suit's head, and the image is carefully edited to remove the mobile suit itself. ;*Linear Floating Seat :A new type of pilot seat which becomes standard after the One Year War and is commonly known as 'linear seat'. In this arrangement, the seat is suspended in the center of the cockpit, supported by a linear arm which electromagnetically counters G-forces and impact shocks in order to protect the pilot. When used in conjunction with the 360-degree panoramic monitor, the linear seat also gives the pilot a larger field of view and eliminates blind spots. ;*Learning Computer :The Alex was equipped with the NICN system, a high-speed, large-capacity AI with better performance than the ICN system installed in the RX-78-2 Gundam. ;*Magnetic Coating :A special membrane treatment applied to mobile suit's joints to improve their response speed. The mobile suits developed by the Earth Federation Forces use special actuators called field motors, whose efficiency is increased by the magnet coating process. The treatment also reduces friction resistance in the joints. With this, the reaction time of the MS is greatly increased, but also made the "Alex" extremely hard to control, especially for an Oldtype. While the Gundam "Alex" did not reach its intended pilot Amuro Ray, this technology was eventually applied to the original RX-78-2 Gundam. ;*Chobam Armor :Designed for the Gundam Alex, the Chobam ( 'C'eramics 'H'ybrid 'O'uter-shelled 'B'low up 'A'ct-on 'M'aterials) armor is a series of optional armor plates attached to the machine's main body. It is one of the composite armor developed as part of the Full-Armor System and Weapon System (FSWS) project for the RX-78 series. Materials used in its construction include a thin layer of Luna Titanium Alloy. Though the Chobam Armor granted the Alex superior defensive capabilities (it easily withstand a direct hit from the Kampfer's shotgun and protected the Gundam Alex from the explosion of the chain mine), it weighs down the suit and is unarmed. To reduce the drop in maneuverability and mobility caused by the added weight, the armor plates on the rear skit have built-in thrusters and certain sections of the armor have movable flaps to ensure some of Alex's thrusters remain usable. This armor was later used in the RGC-83 GM Cannon II. When equipped, the Alex's model number and name changes to RX-78NT-1FA Full Armor Gundam "Alex". History The RX-78NT-1 Gundam "Alex" was a prototype developed by the Federation Forces to make the most of the abilities of Newtypes and to serve as a custom machine for Amuro Ray in the upcoming Operation Star One. In the final months of UC.0079, Alex was delivered from the Arctic Base to Side 6 for testing, with Zeon's special ops Cyclops Team on its tail. The Cyclops Team managed to locate Alex within Side 6's Libot Colony and infiltrated the Earth Federation Forces' base to steal it, or upon failure to do so, destroy it with explosives. However, the Cyclops' plan went awry and Christina Mackenzie, Alex's test pilot, managed to activate it and confronted Cyclops' MS-18E Kämpfer. Thanks to its Chobam Armor, Alex survived the Kämpfer's Chain Mines and destroyed the enemy unit using its Gatling Gun. In a subsequent assault, Cyclops's Bernard Wiseman made use of terrain and traps to put Alex at a disadvantage and critically damaging it with his MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai, but he was killed in the process. Shortly after, the One Year War came to an end and the Alex project was dropped. Variants ;*FA-78-NT-1 Full Armor Gundam ALEX Picture Gallery Chobam armor Alex.png|Equipped with Chobam armor Gundam Alex head.png|Head close-up Ms06fz_p05.jpg|Dramatic showdown against Zaku II Kai (Gundam 0080 OVA) RX-78NT-1_Gundam_Fix_Figuration.jpg|Color art by Hajime Katoki Rx-78nt1-75893745745.jpg|Re-illustration by Kyoshi Takigawa: front view NT-1.png|Re-illustrated by Kyoshi Takigawa as featured in "Master Archive Mobile Suit RX-78 Gundam" (GA Graphic; 2011) NT-head.jpg|Head details chest.jpg|Torso and 360-degree cockpit arm.jpg|Arm structure and 90mm Gatling Gun leginsides.jpg|Leg structure rx-78nt-1-beamsaber.jpg|Blash·XB-B-09 beam saber rx-78nt-1-gatlinggun.jpg|90mm Gatling gun rx-78nt-1-beamrifle.jpg|BOWA·Norfolk XBR-L Type-3 beam rifle rx-78nt-1-shield.jpg|RX·C-Sh-05 UBC/S-0003 shield RX-78 RX-78NT-1.jpg|In SD Gundam card collection alex (2).jpg|Art from Gundam Perfect File NT1 Cockpit.jpg|Inside the Cockpit (Gundam Perfect File) Bari.jpg|Illustration by Masami Obari RX-78-2 and Alex Illust Kanetake Ebikawa.jpg|Illustration by Kanetake Ebikawa Kondo Alex.jpg|Gundam Alex and Kämpfer: Illustration by Kazuhisa Kondo RX78NT1 Alex - Artwork.jpg|Illustration by Toshihiro Kawamoto (January 1995) 2579083715_1da457b30f_o.jpg|Illustration by Morishita Naochika Alexvskampfer.png|"Kämpfer vs Gundam Alex" promotion campaign as featured in Mobile Suit Gundam: Battle Operation Christina-alex.jpg|Gundam Alex and pilot Christina Mackenzie NT-1 malon 01.jpeg|In RX-78-2 Gundam's colors as seen on Mobile Suit SD Gundam Mk IV OVA NT-1 malon 02.jpeg|Firing beam rifle Pinkshenlong-gundamalex.jpg|Gundam Alex (right) as seen on Gundam Build Fighters Try TV series GGen_Gundam_Alex.png|As featured in SD Gundam G Generation Spirits GGen_Gundam_Alex_CA.png|Gundam Alex (Chobam Armor) in G Generation Wars ms_modal_unit_wp_01.png|As seen on the game Gundam Diorama Front 3rd GundamAlex-BO2.png|In Battle Operation 2 GBDR Gundam Alex.png|Preparing to fire in GBD:R Episode 1 Fan Art 3df-rx78nt1chris.jpg Gundam_Alex.jpg Gunpla OldGundamNT1.jpg|Original 1/144 RX-78NT1 Gundam NT-1 (1989): box art Hguc-rx-78nt-1.jpg|HGUC 1/144 RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 (2004): box art Mg-alex.jpg|MG 1/100 RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 (1999): box art MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0.jpg|MG 1/100 RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 (2019): box art MG Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 -Clear Color-.jpg|MG 1/100 RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 Color (Events and the Gundam Base Tokyo exclusive; 2019): box art BB Senshi 037.jpg|SDBB #037 "RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1" (1989): box art Nt-1-sd.jpg|SDBB #273 "RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1" (2004): box art NT-1 FA.jpg|SD Gundam NT-1 (Full Armor) 2914290589_9ebbc9da2a_b.jpg|HGUC 1/144 Gundam Alex: design works fulllineart.jpg|MG 1/100 Gundam Alex: decal schematics Gundam NT-2.jpeg|0080 MSV: unknown scale Gundam NT-2 "Alex" and diorama modeled by Fumita Sato (from Bandai's B-Blub magazine Vol.44; July 1989) Gundam NT-3 1.jpeg|1/75 "Gundam NT-3" soft-vinyl model by Makoto Hachimasu (from Bandai's B-Blub magazine; 1990) Gundam NT-3 2.jpeg|1/75 "Gundam NT-3" soft-vinyl model by Makoto Hachimasu Alex1.png|Original gimmick of the MG RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 (1) alex 2.PNG|Original gimmick of the MG RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 (2) alexheadgear.PNG|Broken antenna and optional headgear gimmick for RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 Ver.2.0 Action Figures MSiA_rx78nt1_p01_Asia.jpg|Mobile Suit in Action (MSiA / MIA) "RX-78NT-1 Gundam Alex" action figure (Asian release; 2001): package front view. MSiA_rx78nt1_p02_USA.jpg|MSiA / MIA "RX-78NT-1 Gundam Alex" action figure (North American release; 2001): package front view. GFF_0018_GundamAlex_box-front.jpg|Gundam Fix Figuration (GFF) #0018 "RX-78NT-1 Gundam Alex / RX-78-4 Gundam G04" figure set (2004): package front view GFF_0018_GundamAlex_box-back.jpg|GFF #0018 "RX-78NT-1 Gundam Alex / RX-78-4 Gundam G04" figure set (2004): package rear view GFF_0018_GundamAlex-GundamG04_Sample.jpg|GFF #0018 RX-78NT-1 Gundam Alex figure (2004): product sample (left) with parts convertible to RX-78-4 Gundam G04 figure (right) GFF_0039_GundamAlexFrameModel_box-front.jpg|GFF #0039 "RX-78NT-1 Gundam Alex Model / RX-78NT-1FA Full Armor Gundam Alex" figure set (2008): package front view GFF_0039_GundamAlexFrameModel_box-back.jpg|GFF #0039 "RX-78NT-1 Gundam Alex Model / RX-78NT-1FA Full Armor Gundam Alex" figure set (2008): package back view GFF_0039_GundamAlexFrameModel-FullArmorGundamAlex_Sample.jpg|GFF #0039 "RX-78NT-1 Gundam Alex Model figure (2008): product sample (left) with parts convertible to "RX-78NT-1FA Full Armor Gundam Alex" figure (right) Notes and Trivia *The Alex's Chobam armor is a reference to the real-life Chobham armor, a type of British tank armor. *Most of the Alex's equipment is not seen in the actual OVA series. The Beam Rifle, Hyper Bazooka and Shield are only seen in supplementary materials. *Due to the fact its only known pilot was a non-Newtype, the true capabilities of the Gundam Alex when piloted by a Newtype is unknown. *A prototype of the NT-1 simply named "RX-78NT1 Proto" appears in Model Graphix vol. 61. It has a red and white color scheme and a "3" marking on its front skirt armor. According to Master Archive Mobilesuit - RX-78 Gundam, this was the Alex's rollout color. *The team responsible for testing the Alex is known as the G-4 Experimental Team, and the Alex bears a "4" marking on its shoulder, implying that the Alex was originally intended to be Gundam Unit 4. Presumably, the staff was unaware that RX-78-4 Gundam Unit 4 "G04" previously appeared in Mobile Suit Variations. The original Alex MG model manual implied that there may be multiple Gundam Unit 4 due to parallel development. **This was later retconned in Mobile Suit Gundam: MS Generation, which explained that the Alex was developed as part of the G-4 plan, a project to develop specialized Gundams based on the RX-78-3 "G-3" Gundam. *In the video game Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space, when Amuro Ray pilots the Gundam Alex, he will say "This Alex isn't just for show!" This is likely a reference to Char's Counterattack when Amuro tells Char Aznable not to underestimate the RX-93 ν Gundam. *In the video game SD G-Generation DS, on special mode, if the player has unlocked the first extra session, instead of NT-1 Alex getting destroyed along with Bernie and Mackenzie, Gato and Char would intervene, saving the Cyclops team. Through this event, the NT-1 Alex would be piloted by Amuro during the battle at A Baoa Qu. References NT-1 Collar.jpeg|Color variations - Inside Libot color (left) and Roll-out color (right): information from "Master Archive Mobile Suit RX-78 Gundam" (GA Graphic; 2011) NT1FA.jpg|Information from 1/144 Original "Gundam NT-1" modelling manual GFF - RX78NT1 Gundam Alex.jpg|GFF #0039 Gundam Alex: specification GFF - RX78NT1FA Full Armor Gundam Alex.jpg|GFF #0039 Full Armor Gundam Alex: specification ALEX.jpg|Lineart and design by Yutaka Izubuchi Gundam021.jpg|Lineart and design by Yutaka Izubuchi weapons.jpg|Some of Gundam Alex's armaments RX78NT1GundamAlex - HyperBazookaInfo.jpg|Info on the Alex's Hyper Bazooka from Model Graphix vol. 61 (note that Alex is referred to as "Gundam-IV") External Links *RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 Alex on MAHQ.net ja:RX-78NT-1 ガンダムNT-1 "アレックス"